FR Doc 03-529
[Federal Register: January 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 7)]
[Notices]
[Page 1445-1448]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10ja03-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary proposes funding priorities under the
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) program for up to
nine Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers under the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for Fiscal
Years (FYs) 2003-2005. We take this action to focus research attention
on areas of national need. We intend these priorities to improve the
rehabilitation services and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 10, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed priorities to
Donna Nangle, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 3412, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2645. If you prefer
to send your comments through the Internet, use the following address:
donna.nangle@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 205-
5880.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the TDD number at (202) 205-4475 or via the Internet:
donna.nangle@ed.gov.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding
these proposed priorities.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed
priorities. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about these priorities in Room 3412, Switzer Building, 330 C
Street, SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.,
eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking
Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for these proposed priorities. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
We will announce the final priorities in a notice in the Federal
Register. We will determine the final priorities after considering
responses to this notice and other information available to the
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking
requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use these proposed priorities, we invite
applications through a notice published in the Federal Register.
When inviting applications we designate each priority as absolute,
competitive preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of
priority follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority, we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority, we give competitive preference to an application by either
(1) awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent to
which the application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or
(2) selecting an application that meets the competitive priority over
an application of comparable merit that does not meet the competitive
priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority, we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications
(34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
Note: The proposed priorities support President Bush's New
Freedom Initiative (NFI). The NFI can be accessed on the Internet at
the following site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/freedominitiative/freedominitiative.html
.
The proposed priorities are also in concert with NIDRR's Long-Range
Plan, which can be accessed on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/NIDRR/#LRP.
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Program
We may make awards for up to 60 months through grants or
cooperative agreements to public and private agencies and
organizations, including institutions of higher education, Indian
tribes, and tribal organizations, to conduct research, demonstration,
and
[[Page 1446]]
training activities regarding rehabilitation technology in order to
enhance opportunities for meeting the needs of, and addressing the
barriers confronted by, individuals with disabilities in all aspects of
their lives. Each RERC must be operated by or in collaboration with an
institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization.
Description of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers
RERCs carry out research or demonstration activities by:
(a) Developing and disseminating innovative methods of applying
advanced technology, scientific achievement, and psychological and
social knowledge to (1) solve rehabilitation problems and remove
environmental barriers and (2) study and evaluate new or emerging
technologies, products, or environments and their effectiveness and
benefits; or
(b) Demonstrating and disseminating (1) innovative models for the
delivery of cost-effective rehabilitation technology services to rural
and urban areas and (2) other scientific research to assist in meeting
the employment and independent living needs of individuals with severe
disabilities; or
(c) Facilitating service delivery systems change through (1) the
development, evaluation, and dissemination of consumer-responsive and
individual and family-centered innovative models for the delivery to
both rural and urban areas of innovative cost-effective rehabilitation
technology services and (2) other scientific research to assist in
meeting the employment and independence needs of individuals with
severe disabilities.
Each RERC must provide training opportunities, in conjunction with
institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations, to assist
individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to become
rehabilitation technology researchers and practitioners.
General RERC Requirements
The following requirements apply to each RERC pursuant to these
absolute priorities unless noted otherwise. An applicant's proposal to
fulfill these requirements will be assessed using applicable selection
criteria in the peer review process.
Each RERC must have the capability to design, build, and test
prototype devices and assist in the transfer of successful solutions to
relevant production and service delivery settings. Each RERC must
evaluate the efficacy and safety of its new products, instrumentation,
or assistive devices.
Each RERC must develop and implement in the first three months of
the grant a plan that describes how the center will include, as
appropriate, individuals with disabilities or their representatives in
all phases of center activities including research, development,
training, dissemination, and evaluation.
Each RERC must develop and implement in the first year of the
grant, in consultation with the NIDRR-funded National Center for the
Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR), a plan to disseminate the
RERC's research results to persons with disabilities, their
representatives, disability organizations, service providers,
professional journals, manufacturers, and other interested parties.
Each RERC must develop and implement in the first year of the
grant, in consultation with the NIDRR-funded RERC on Technology
Transfer or other entities as appropriate, a plan for ensuring that all
new and improved technologies developed by this RERC are successfully
transferred to the marketplace.
Each RERC must conduct a state-of-the-science conference on its
respective area of research in the third year of the grant and publish
a comprehensive report on the final outcomes of the conference in the
fourth year of the grant.
Each RERC will be expected to coordinate on research projects of
mutual interest with relevant NIDRR-funded projects as identified
through consultation with the NIDRR project officer.
Priorities
Background
Technology plays a vital role in the lives of millions of disabled
and older Americans. Advances in assistive technology and adoption of
principles of universal design have significantly improved the quality
of life for these individuals. Individuals with significant
disabilities regularly use products developed as the result of
rehabilitation and biomedical research to achieve and maintain maximum
physical function, live independently, study and learn, and attain
gainful employment. The range of engineering research has broadened to
encompass not only assistive technology but also technology at the
systems level (i.e., the built environment, information and
communication technologies, transportation, etc.) and technology that
interfaces between the individual and systems technology and is basic
to community integration.
The NIDRR RERC program has been a major force in the development of
technology to enhance independent function for individuals with
disabilities. The RERCs are recognized as national centers of
excellence in their respective areas and collectively represent the
largest federally supported program responsible for advancing
rehabilitation engineering research. For example, the RERC program was
an early pioneer in the development of augmentative communication and
has been at the forefront of prosthetics and orthotics research for
both children and adults. RERCs have played a major role in the
development of voluntary standards that industry uses when developing
wheelchairs, wheelchair restraint systems, information technologies,
and the World Wide Web. The RERC on Low Vision and Blindness helped
develop talking sign technologies that are currently being utilized in
major cities in both the United States and Japan to help blind and
visually impaired individuals navigate city streets and subways. RERCs
have been a driving force in the development of universal design
principles that can be applied to the built environment, information
technology and telecommunications, transportation, and consumer
products. RERC research activities also contributed to the clinical use
of electromyography, gait analysis, and functional electrical
stimulation.
Advancements in basic biomedical science and technology have
resulted in new opportunities to enhance further the lives of people
with disabilities. Recent advances in biomaterials research, composite
technologies, information and telecommunication technologies,
nanotechnologies, micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), sensor
technologies, and the neurosciences provide a wealth of opportunities
for individuals with disabilities and should be incorporated into
research focused on disability and rehabilitation.
NIDRR intends to fund up to nine new RERCs in FY 2003. Applicants
must select one of the following priority topic areas: (a) Hearing
enhancement; (b) prosthetics and orthotics; (c) communication
enhancement; (d) measurement and monitoring of functional performance;
(e) technology access for land mine survivors; (f) universal interface
and information technologies; (g) telerehabilitation; (h) accessible
public transportation; (i) wheeled mobility; (j) cognitive
technologies; and (k) technology
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transfer. Applicants are allowed to submit more than one proposal as
long as each proposal addresses only one RERC topic area.
Letters of Intent
Due to the open nature of this competition, NIDRR is requiring all
potential applicants to submit a letter of intent (LOI). Each LOI must
be limited to a maximum of four pages and must include the following
information: (1) The title of the proposed RERC, the name of the host
institution, the name of the Principal Investigator (PI), and the names
of partner institutions and entities; (2) a brief statement of the
vision, goals and objectives of the proposed RERC and a description of
its research and development activities at a sufficient level of detail
to allow potential peer reviewers to be selected; (3) a list of
proposed RERC staff including the center Director and key personnel;
and (4) a list of individuals whose selection as a peer reviewer might
constitute a conflict of interest due to involvement in proposal
development, selection as an advisory board member, co-PI
relationships, etc.
The signed, original LOI must be received by NIDRR no later than
four weeks after the notice of final funding priorities for this
competition is published in the Federal Register. Submission of a LOI
is a prerequisite for eligibility to submit an application. With prior
approval, an email or facsimile copy of a LOI will be accepted, but the
signed original must be sent to: William Peterson, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3425, Switzer Building,
Washington, DC 20202-2645. For further information regarding the LOI
requirement, contact William Peterson at (202) 205-9192 or by email at:
william.peterson@ed.gov.
Proposed Priorities
The Assistant Secretary proposes to fund up to nine RERCs that will
focus on innovative technological solutions, new knowledge, and
concepts to promote the health, safety, independence, employment,
active engagement in daily activities, and quality of life of persons
with disabilities. Each RERC must:
(1) Contribute substantially to the technical and scientific
knowledge-base relevant to its respective subject area;
(2) Research, develop, and evaluate innovative technologies,
products, environments, performance guidelines, and monitoring and
assessment tools as applicable to its respective subject area;
(3) Identify, implement, and evaluate, in collaboration with the
relevant industry, professional associations, and institutions of
higher education, innovative approaches to expand research capacity in
its respective field of study;
(4) Monitor trends and evolving product concepts that represent and
signify future directions for technologies in its respective area of
research; and
(5) Provide technical assistance to public and private
organizations responsible for developing policies, guidelines, and
standards that affect its respective area of research.
(6) Each RERC must focus on one of the following priority topic
areas:
(a) Hearing Enhancement: This center must research and develop
methods, systems, and technologies that will assist hearing
professionals with the process of matching hearing technology to
individuals with hearing loss and associated conditions such as
tinnitus. This includes improving the compatibility of hearing
enhancement technologies with various environments such as school,
work, recreation, and social settings;
(b) Prosthetics and Orthotics: This center must increase
understanding of the scientific and engineering principles pertaining
to human locomotion, reaching, grasping, and manipulation, and
incorporate those principles into the design and fitting of prosthetic
and orthotic devices;
(c) Communication Enhancement: This center must research and
develop augmentative and alternative communication technologies and
strategies that will enhance the communicative capacity of individuals
of all ages with significant communication disorders across
environments (i.e., education, employment, recreation, social);
(d) Measurement and Monitoring of Functional Performance: This
center must research and develop technologies and methods that
effectively assess the outcomes of rehabilitation therapies by
combining measurements of physiological performance with measures of
functional performance;
(e) Technology Access for Land Mine Survivors: This center must
address the unique rehabilitation needs of land mine survivors of all
ages and develop low-cost replacement limbs, orthotics, and assistive
technologies using indigenous materials and expertise from respective
countries that will benefit the quality of life for individuals who
have been severely injured due to land mine explosions;
(f) Universal Interface and Information Technologies: This center
must research and develop innovative technological solutions for, and
promote universal access to, current and emerging information
technologies and technology interfaces that promote a seamless
integration of the multiple technologies used by individuals with
disabilities in the home, the community, and the workplace. This center
must work collaboratively with the RERC on Telecommunication Access,
the RERC on Mobile Wireless Technologies, and the NIDRR-funded
Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center;
(g) Telerehabilitation: This center must research and develop
methods, systems, and technologies that support remote delivery of
rehabilitation and home health care services for individuals who have
limited local access to comprehensive medical and rehabilitation
outpatient services;
(h) Accessible Public Transportation: This center must research and
develop methods, systems, and devices that will promote and enhance the
ability of people with disabilities to safely, comfortably, and
efficiently identify destination information, embark/disembark, and use
restroom facilities on various types of public transportation systems
such as passenger trains and airplanes;
(i) Wheeled Mobility: This center must research and develop
innovative technologies and strategies that will improve the current
state of the science, design standards, and usability of wheeled
mobility devices and wheelchair seating systems;
(j) Cognitive Technologies: This center must research, develop, and
evaluate innovative technologies and approaches that will have a
positive impact on the way in which individuals with significant
cognitive disabilities function independently within their communities
and workplace; and
(k) Technology Transfer: This center must research and develop
innovative ways to facilitate and improve the process of moving new,
useful, and more effective assistive technology inventions and
applications from the prototype phase to the marketplace. This center
will be expected to provide technical assistance to all RERCs on issues
pertaining to technology transfer, including the development of long-
range technology transfer plans.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet
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at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
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Note: The official version of this document is published in the
Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of
the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is
available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.133E,
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center Program)
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(3).
Dated: January 6, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-529 Filed 1-9-03; 8:45 am]
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